4 ms·

>Poverty is a circumstance, not a value judgment Really? All I see is someone who lacks good judgement when I read that article. I had a Mercedes once and so

>Poverty is a circumstance, not a value judgment Really? All I see is someone who lacks good judgement when I read that article. I had a Mercedes once and sold it when things got tight. Holding onto an asset like that when you're impoverished is just foolish. I can't imagine being unemployed that long either. I'd be raking leaves for money after two months.

Zigurd 12y ago
A 2003 C230K, which is what it sounds like the author was driving, could be worth in the low single-digit thousands, depending on the miles. You might find a similar vintage Subaru for hundreds of dollars less, but the risk of swapping an old car you know for one you don't to extract a few hundred dollars makes no sense. One repair could wipe that out several times over. Moreover, this car is probably paid for. They might have to finance a replacement at very unfavorable rates.
- fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
  In the article she says the Mercedes was paid off; and anyone who has ever owned one knows that their resale value as a percentage of the original purchase price is among the worst of all car makes.
- DiabloD3 12y ago
  Honestly, this is the correct thing. Cars, once they're about 2-3 years old, have no real value. They all drop below $10k around here no matter the make or model (Maine winters are hard on vehicles, though, again, no one drives Mercedes around here either). Buying a car is a sunk cost. Once you own it, getting rid of it before it cannot be driven anymore is wasting money. Once she bought that Mercedes, once it got too old, swapping it for a newer used vehicle would just give her a worse vehicle that would cost her more money in the long run. I am poor. I've never been rich. I have a few nice things because I force myself to do the math on things. Other poor people hate me and threaten to report me to "the authorities" for owning nice things because somehow I cheated to get them. I may not own many things, but the things I own do what I need them to do, and will do so for a very very long time. What this woman did, in my opinion, was the right thing. Selling only makes sense if you can actually profit from it.
  - jacquesm 12y ago
    A car is not only something that costs money to buy, it also costs money to maintain and run. That cost can be cut and if you are in trouble financially the first thing to go should be a vehicle that you can no longer afford to own and operate. It's a luxury item.
    - Delmania 12y ago
      Regardless of how much trouble you're in, reliable transportation is needed. Cars are an expense, but in the situation described, the Mercedes was fully paid off. The cost of maintaining it (gas, repairs, insurance) is no greater than any other car.
      - jacquesm 12y ago
        Repairs on an older Mercedes are actually quite expensive. I should know because I own one and if hard times would hit - unlikely, but you never know - it would be the first thing to go (and I'd replace it with an old VW Golf/Rabbit diesel).
        bryanlarsen 12y ago
        VW diesels are very expensive to fix when things go wrong, in my personal experience.
        jacquesm 12y ago
        That's true, but on the plus side, things don't go wrong very frequently. I've run this beast: http://pics.camarades.com/v/jacques/cars/golf/ http://pics.camarades.com/v/jacques/cars/golf/ From '09 to '11 and it had more than 300K km on it by the time I was done with it (and it still brought me back more than I paid for it...). You have to be pretty sharp when you're buying them to make sure you don't buy one that has been maintained poorly. Fuel pump and turbo are the most important things to check. That car cost about $750 to buy and another $200 for fixes required right after buying it to get it through the 'MOT', after that it ran without a hitch for two years.
- tootie 12y ago
  The mistake was buying it in the first place. A Honda Accord would last 10 years for half the price.
bryanlarsen 12y ago
They have a reliable $5000 car. Given they have two babies, they need reliable transportation. What could they buy for significantly less than $5000 for reliable transportation? A bicycle would work for an adult, but they had two babies...
Delmania 12y ago
That's pretty much a knee jerk reaction. The car in question is over a decade old, but is fully paid off and in good repair. It was also the couple's only car at the time, as her Honda has broken down. Reliable transportation is a key component to escaping poverty. The author isn't perfect, she and her husband did make some poor choices, but keeping the Mercedes is not one of them.
- techsupporter 12y ago
  > The author isn't perfect, she and her husband did make some poor choices Unless I missed something, I don't see where the author and her husband made any poor choices. Keeping the paid-off vehicle is prudent[0]. They were making a combined income of $120k, according to her, when they chose to have a child. Only after the pregnancy was her husband laid off and they couldn't have easily foreseen that the babies would have health problems. They bought a house but the timing wasn't their fault and it's almost impossible for a layperson to predict. In short, they discovered the true meaning of "shit happens." 0 - That's one thing people might want to keep in mind when they see someone talking on an iPhone while paying with food stamps. It's far easier to keep what you have than to sell it--usually at "fire sale" prices for quick cash--and try to replace it with something cheaper. If I ever lost my job, two of the last things to go would be my paid-off vehicle and my dirt-cheap unlimited data mobile plan with smartphone.
  - IanDrake 12y ago
    You guys know you can walk into a dealership with one car and walk out with another car and a check in your hand right? I'm not sure where this "paid off" straw-man argument comes from. I've driven perfectly reliable cars that cost less than $5K. A 10 year old Mercedes in great shape is probably worth about 15-20K. Why not trade that in and get another "paid off" car worth 5K and a check for 10K? I guess it depends on how you were brought up. I'd rather sell all my possessions at pennies on the dollar, live in a honda civic, and do odd jobs than take government assistance.
    - poikniok 12y ago

Zigurd 12y ago

A 2003 C230K, which is what it sounds like the author was driving, could be worth in the low single-digit thousands, depending on the miles. You might find a similar vintage Subaru for hundreds of dollars less, but the risk of swapping an old car you know for one you don't to extract a few hundred dollars makes no sense. One repair could wipe that out several times over. Moreover, this car is probably paid for. They might have to finance a replacement at very unfavorable rates.

fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
In the article she says the Mercedes was paid off; and anyone who has ever owned one knows that their resale value as a percentage of the original purchase price is among the worst of all car makes.
DiabloD3 12y ago
Honestly, this is the correct thing. Cars, once they're about 2-3 years old, have no real value. They all drop below $10k around here no matter the make or model (Maine winters are hard on vehicles, though, again, no one drives Mercedes around here either). Buying a car is a sunk cost. Once you own it, getting rid of it before it cannot be driven anymore is wasting money. Once she bought that Mercedes, once it got too old, swapping it for a newer used vehicle would just give her a worse vehicle that would cost her more money in the long run. I am poor. I've never been rich. I have a few nice things because I force myself to do the math on things. Other poor people hate me and threaten to report me to "the authorities" for owning nice things because somehow I cheated to get them. I may not own many things, but the things I own do what I need them to do, and will do so for a very very long time. What this woman did, in my opinion, was the right thing. Selling only makes sense if you can actually profit from it.
- jacquesm 12y ago
  A car is not only something that costs money to buy, it also costs money to maintain and run. That cost can be cut and if you are in trouble financially the first thing to go should be a vehicle that you can no longer afford to own and operate. It's a luxury item.
  - Delmania 12y ago
    Regardless of how much trouble you're in, reliable transportation is needed. Cars are an expense, but in the situation described, the Mercedes was fully paid off. The cost of maintaining it (gas, repairs, insurance) is no greater than any other car.
    - jacquesm 12y ago
      Repairs on an older Mercedes are actually quite expensive. I should know because I own one and if hard times would hit - unlikely, but you never know - it would be the first thing to go (and I'd replace it with an old VW Golf/Rabbit diesel).
      - bryanlarsen 12y ago
        VW diesels are very expensive to fix when things go wrong, in my personal experience.
        jacquesm 12y ago
        That's true, but on the plus side, things don't go wrong very frequently. I've run this beast: http://pics.camarades.com/v/jacques/cars/golf/ http://pics.camarades.com/v/jacques/cars/golf/ From '09 to '11 and it had more than 300K km on it by the time I was done with it (and it still brought me back more than I paid for it...). You have to be pretty sharp when you're buying them to make sure you don't buy one that has been maintained poorly. Fuel pump and turbo are the most important things to check. That car cost about $750 to buy and another $200 for fixes required right after buying it to get it through the 'MOT', after that it ran without a hitch for two years.
tootie 12y ago
The mistake was buying it in the first place. A Honda Accord would last 10 years for half the price.

bryanlarsen 12y ago

They have a reliable $5000 car. Given they have two babies, they need reliable transportation. What could they buy for significantly less than $5000 for reliable transportation? A bicycle would work for an adult, but they had two babies...

Delmania 12y ago

That's pretty much a knee jerk reaction. The car in question is over a decade old, but is fully paid off and in good repair. It was also the couple's only car at the time, as her Honda has broken down. Reliable transportation is a key component to escaping poverty. The author isn't perfect, she and her husband did make some poor choices, but keeping the Mercedes is not one of them.

techsupporter 12y ago
> The author isn't perfect, she and her husband did make some poor choices Unless I missed something, I don't see where the author and her husband made any poor choices. Keeping the paid-off vehicle is prudent[0]. They were making a combined income of $120k, according to her, when they chose to have a child. Only after the pregnancy was her husband laid off and they couldn't have easily foreseen that the babies would have health problems. They bought a house but the timing wasn't their fault and it's almost impossible for a layperson to predict. In short, they discovered the true meaning of "shit happens." 0 - That's one thing people might want to keep in mind when they see someone talking on an iPhone while paying with food stamps. It's far easier to keep what you have than to sell it--usually at "fire sale" prices for quick cash--and try to replace it with something cheaper. If I ever lost my job, two of the last things to go would be my paid-off vehicle and my dirt-cheap unlimited data mobile plan with smartphone.
- IanDrake 12y ago
  You guys know you can walk into a dealership with one car and walk out with another car and a check in your hand right? I'm not sure where this "paid off" straw-man argument comes from. I've driven perfectly reliable cars that cost less than $5K. A 10 year old Mercedes in great shape is probably worth about 15-20K. Why not trade that in and get another "paid off" car worth 5K and a check for 10K? I guess it depends on how you were brought up. I'd rather sell all my possessions at pennies on the dollar, live in a honda civic, and do odd jobs than take government assistance.
  - poikniok 12y ago